Z is for Zanpakutō
by frenchship
Summary: Follow the life and story of Son Ichigo, hero of the earth who defeated the evil Soul Reaper Byakuya five years ago, as the question to his mysterious origin is finally revealed. Long theorized to be some sort of space alien, Ichigo is now revealed to be a hollow from the world of Hueco Mundo. DBZ wearing bleached skin. Ulquiorra!Vegeta, Byakuya!Piccolo, Aizen!Freeza, Gohan!Toshiro
1. Family Reunions

A white haired toddler holding a _katana_ waddled through the brush, looking around with worried blue eyes, and occasionally calling out for his "dadda." He wore a black torn, and dirty _hakama_ that was too large on him. A panther was stalking the boy, its piercing blue eyes staring him down like a candy-craving child. It licked its lips hungrily, moving in for the kill. The boy turned around, holding the old _katana_ out in a meager attempt at appearing a threat. Luckily, the panther was none too bright, and backed up slightly. The boy aimed as best he could, and threw the _katana_ at the panther. It made to dodge, but failed. The old dull blade shattered uselessly against the cat, and the toddler ran away as fast as his stubby legs would take him. Meanwhile, the panther carefully stepped around the shattered remains of the sword, and made his way through the thorny brush. The boy tried to duck under some vines, but instead tripped, and fell, skinning his knee, and struggling to get back up, and run. The panther came around the corner of some trees, and got stuck in the vines, snapping its jaw angrily. The boy continued running, eventually reaching a cliffside clearing. He turned around in fear, and came face to face with the angry cat. Teeth, and gums, and piercing blue eyes stared back at him. He was afraid, so he did the only thing he _knew_ to do. He called for his father; "D-dadda!"

An orange haired man in a black _gi_, holding a black khyber knife appeared in between the two.

He was facing the toddler, and without turning around to look at the panther, he asked, "Hey Tōshirō. This cat botherin' ya?"

Tōshirō nodded his little head up, and down vigorously, eyes wide with wonderment, exclaiming "Y-yes, dadda!" The panther stared confusedly at the orange haired man, and began to back off slowly, his blue eyes not quite as piercing as before. The man turned around slowly, brown eyes scowling at the panther. The panther turned tail, and ran. The man tossed Tōshirō up onto his shoulders while the boy smiled happily, and began gripping tightly onto his father's bright orange hair.

'Crap. Rukia's gonna be pissed that this _hakama_'s shredded,' thought the man. 'Also, where the hell's Hyōrinmaru?'

The man quickly began to sense the area with his spiritual powers, honing in around some thorny brush. Reaching down, he brought his hand back with the four-pointed hilt of the _katana_ Tōshirō had previously thrown at the panther. 'Shit... it's shattered. Grandpa Jūshirō must be turnin' over in his grave. Might not be _too_ late to cancel on Urahara.' He remembered his grandfather's last words, "Keep Hyōrinmaru safe, Ichigo." He sighed, wanting to be annoyed. He looked up to his son, who was busy playing with his hair. Feeling his father's gaze, Tōshirō glanced down. Ichigo, and Tōshirō shared a smile.

* * *

Somewhere in rural Asia, a star screamed overhead, lighting the dark sky at dawn, and making it appear as day. The star soared above the world, crashing into the sands of a steppe, creating a massive crater. Within the crater sat a white square. One of its sides popped out with a mechanical hiss, and slowly lifted open with the dull whirr of machinery. A man who bore a strong resemblance to Ichigo sat up within the square, and stepped out of it. Instead of orange hair, his hair was black, and instead of a black _gi_, he wore a white _hakama_ beneath a similarly-colored jacket. Upon his right eye was a bone-colored mask encasing red glass. The mask wrapped around his temple, and hooked over his ear. In a manner reminiscent to Ichigo, he used his mask to sense the area. "So _Kurosaki_'s failed us, huh-? Figures." A few beeps emitted from the mask, becoming more, and more rapid as he turned his eyes eastward. He smirked to himself, muttering "Found you, my brother dearest."

He then slowly began levitating off the ground, practically announcing his presence to anyone capable of sensing spiritual pressures. He leaned forward slightly, and then began to physically run across the sky. He phased in, and out, soaring through the sky faster than _sound_. He was soon out of the steppes, and into woodlands, eventually coming in as a blur through several cities. He was spotted by thousands of people, but only briefly, most of them thinking he was merely wind, while some of them fell to their knees sensing his power. He came across a large body of water, gracefully avoiding it, but kicking up huge waves with his immense spiritual pressure. Within several minutes, he was beginning to tire of using his power, called _sonido._

The lookalike came across a patch of sakura trees. 'He should be around here,' he thought to himself. A man with long black hair, a black _hakama_, a white jacket, a white scarf, and a set of white headpieces approached through the trees. 'The Hell's a Soul Reaper doing on this backwater?' They stared each other down. His face was stoic, and his stature proud. This was the kind of man that the lookalike loved to _break_.

But he had no time for that, so instead, he politely asked "Soul Reaper, might you know of a man who looks like me, only with orange hair?" The man stared at him blankly, an angry expression briefly passing over his face.

"Oh, touch a nerve di-?," "Might I ask who you are, and what business you have with Ichigo?," the Soul Reaper interrupted him.

The doppelganger was very briefly dumbfounded, but then flashed a smile at the Soul Reaper. "I am called Aaroniero. I do not know anyone by the name of _Ichigo_... though I can presume that _that_ is what Kurosaki's been calling himself on this godforsaken rock. Tell me, is he, what? Your king? Or did he actually go ahead, and make friends with you?"

"Neither. I do not know where your _Kurosaki_ is."

Just then, Aaroniero's mask detected a spiritual pressure just a few minutes south of his current position. It was only very slightly weaker than that of the Soul Reaper before him. The Soul Reaper's expression very barely hinted at fear, and he _too_ was looking south. 'Interesting, it seems as though he can sense spiritual pressure without a _reikaku_. Might need to force him to teach me that one after I deal with brother dearest.'

"Heh, seems as though your death's been delayed, Soul Reaper," he said, levitating, and launching south with his _sonido._

* * *

Rukia _had_ been annoyed when he brought in Tōshirō. She fawned over him, embarrassed him by calling him Shirō-chan, gave him a couple exaggeratedly worried hugs, and kisses, and then gave him a bath. Tōshirō then went into his room to change, closing his door behind him; the moment Ichigo was _absolutely_ dreading.

"Damnit Ichigo!" Rukia whisper-shouted, "You know, that was the last _hakama_ Byaku-nii left me after your fight!"

"Ru-," "On top of that! You _just_ let Shirō-chan play off on his own? In the woods? And now what, Hyōrinmaru's shattered? Do you know how mad Captain Ukitake would be at you?!"

"R-rukia..." Ichigo started off meekly, "he's a fourth... uh (gulp) Soul Reaper, and half whatever I am... I think he'd have been fine without me. I mean... anyway Hyōrinmaru will just return the next time we gather the other s-six s-swords!"

Rukia stared at him hard, then looked down and sighed. "Heh, you've always reminded me of Keigo when you're afraid..." Rukia said, snickering to herself. To that, Ichigo took offence, putting on a _deadly_ serious expression. "Woman, first you insult me, then my best friend. Now you shall pay..."

A beat passed.

"You're short," Ichigo said.

Rukia ran away screaming, off to cry in some corner of the house. Just then, Tōshirō stepped out of his room, wearing a black _hakama_ Rukia seemed to have made for him. He gave his father a small nod, and reached his arms up, seemingly ready to be picked up. Ichigo handed his son Hyōrinmaru, and threw him up on his shoulders. The orange haired man turned, shouting "Yeah, so we'll be off shrimpy" into the house.

"I hope you die," came back Rukia's response, said with a small smile on her lips.

She would come to regret those words.

* * *

Orihime Inoue's flying car looked like it didn't know if it wanted to be a _mom's_ wonderful, magical vehicle, or a _billionaire playgirl's_ wonderful, magical vehicle. It was square, fat, and had a sickening off-white paint job, along with plenty of space for kids, and groceries, but it also went at ungodly speeds, had a huge _Inoue Innovations_ logo on it, and was blasting loud k-pop seemingly from everywhere. Probably it leaned a little bit more towards billionaire playgirl, as it also flew at altitudes higher than the average plane. Then again, it only did that because Orihime would never want to be rude, and disturb people with her taste in music, so back to mom-like. This crossed her mind as she lowered the vehicle into the suburbs of Karakura Town, and she turned her music off, humming it to herself quietly even after it was over. She parked just outside of Urahara's Shop, while a couple of onlookers gawked at the presence of a world-famous scientist.

The door to Urahara Shop opened with a chime, and Orihime smiled at the familiarity of it, the smell of the food, the warm air, the noise of the fan, and the sight of her friends gathered around the TV behind the shop proper. Keigo was flailing around like an idiot, spouting off nonsense about aliens to Urahara. Yoruichi (a shapeshifting cat) was sleeping on top of the TV, while Tessai was watching a documentary about aliens on it. Ganju (a shapeshifting hog) noticed her first, quickly grabbing everyone else's attention by whistling through his snout, "Well, look who's here, if it isn't Orihime!" Urahara gave her a big smile, saying "Welcome back!" Yoruichi just looked kind of annoyed, and went back to sleep.

Keigo, however...

Keigo ran at her, ready to pounce on her, and give her a bear hug. Orihime smacked him out of the way, leaving him in a crumpled heap by the end of the shop. She sat down at the table, and exchanged pleasantries with the other _Ryoka_. Keigo skulked back, hugging Orihime from behind, and crying crocodile tears. Orihime smacked him again, sending him flying.

After recovering, Keigo sat back down, and more seriously asked her, "Hey, where's Uryū?"

Orihime sighed, "He's stayed at work. Doing some sort of surgery. I get that his job is important, but he's not the only heart surgeon on earth. Sometimes I think _he's_ heartless, always putting me and his friends off!."

"It's what happens when you grow up with so much responsibility," Yoruichi piped up, somehow back in her human form without anyone noticing. "He grew up the most-powerful Quincy in the _last_ Quincy village. He's always felt the need to protect people, and without a Gotei 13 to fight against, he's got nothing."

Orihime had to try so hard to not say 'He's got me!' They all thought it anyway.

Keigo, sensing the awkwardness, instead decided to ask Yoruichi a question, "Hey, so why aren't Suì-Fēng, and Ōmaeda here?"

"Oh? Those two idiots? Yeah, from what I can tell they've both been working on some dumb plan to infuse strawberries with this healing serum Captain Mayuri from the Gotei 13 was working on before Ichigo wiped the floor with 'em."

"So you mean Suì-Fēng, and that artificial soul guy with the horns have been using it as an excuse to beat up Ōmaeda? I'm guessing, what, that he agrees to it, 'cause free strawberries?" Keigo asked.

"Yeah, more or less," Yoruichi replied, smiling at the kid.

"Really, they went with strawberries? Why not, I don't know, something less obvious, like beans, maybe?" Urahara asked.

"They aren't very clever," Yoruichi responded.

The door chimed.

"Speaking of not very clever," Urahara muttered as Ichigo, and Tōshirō walked into the shop.

"Hey," Ichigo said, fake-scowl, and cool demeanor on full display.

Before he knew it, however, Tessai was cradling Tōshirō like the man was the boy's father. "There, there Shirō-chan, the bad man's gone now," he said to him, making the boy giggle. Before _he_ knew it, however, Orihime was cradling Tōshirō, humming k-pop to him. "Hey, so what's the kid's name Ichigo?" Keigo asked his best friend.

"Tōshirō, but how did _you_ know that Tessai?" Ichigo tried to hide the slight worry on his face because his son was around so many new people.

"Oh, his name is actually Shirō? I just called him that because of his hair color. So you named him after the ol' Captain?" Tessai said.

"Yeah, though aside from the hair he doesn't really look anything like him. Grandpa was soft-spoken, and sickly, this kid's pretty angry-lookin', and already displays Soul Reaper abilities," Ichigo responded.

"No wonder he's so angry-lookin' with you, and Rukia for parents," Urahara joked behind his fan.

Ichigo looked even more angry than before, and in an attempt to drop the subject turned to Orihime, and asked "Where's Ur-?...!," before stopping mid-sentence to run outside, and look at what he _felt_ approaching Urahara Shop. Everybody there had the ability to detect spiritual pressures, so they all wordlessly followed suit. Every single one of them expected Byakuya to have made his return. Last time, he had only stopped his reign of terror because his sister/step-daughter (Byakuya is his own clone) had fallen in love with his arch-nemesis. Even that had been close, as Byakuya nearly hated Ichigo enough to kill family over him.

Instead, they were met with Aaroniero extending his bony left hand.

"Hello, _Kurosaki_."

Orihime noticed that a strange expression passed over Ichigo's face when the stranger said that name.

"There's nobody here who goes by Kurosaki," responded Urahara.

Aaroniero ignored him, and instead was focused intently on Ichigo, who was putting on a façade of bravery combined with legitimate anger.

After a few seconds, Aaroniero began to smile, "So my intuition was right, brother dearest, you've really gone ahead, and made friends with these pitiful humans?"

Ichigo's expression then became extremely confused, while Orihime had already considered the possibility that this stranger was related to Ichigo. He was quite obviously not from this world, and had a bony hand to match Ichigo's bony chest. "B-brother?" Ichigo asked, expressing his confusion aloud.

"You seem like an idiot thus far," Aaroniero said dryly.

Sighing, he continued, "Yes, I'm your brother. My name is Aaroniero. Sadly it seems you don't even recognize the name your father gave you. Also, your mission to lay waste to this rock has not yet been met, so I am to assume that you're suffering some sort of amnesia," he continued.

"Looks like I'll have to... jog your memory. It's a shame really, I've always been a _**family man**_."

Aaroniero swooped down in an instant, and before Ichigo knew it, Tōshirō was being "cradled" in his arms.

"Heh, so angry," Aaroniero noted, not specifying whether or not he meant Tōshirō or Ichigo. Strangely, it was Keigo who attacked first, launching a kick meant for the lookalike's _reikaku_. The man had Keigo by the foot before he had even taken off, and threw him into Urahara Shop with enough force that he crashed into the TV, abruptly ending the documentary he had been watching.

"Well, I guess I owe you an explanation before I kidnap my nephew, brother dearest."

"So, _Kurosaki_, you are a Hollow, a type of spirit originating from the world of _Hueco Mundo_, which was destroyed by a spiritual cataclysm, ending in the nigh-extinction of our people. Only two others remain. However, even if you, or your friends were able to defeat me now," he shot a pointed glance at Keigo, "the other two are even more powerful than I am, and would surely come back to defeat _you_!"

Aaroniero would have described Ichigo's expression as absolutely priceless. It was contorted in a weird mix of confusion, anger, fear, sadness, worry, and his personal favorite, relief.

"Tell you what, though, _Kurosaki_, if you kill these humans, and lose your human name, I'll spare your kid, and who knows... maybe I'll even spare, and train you," Aaroniero said, while smiling darkly at him.

'As if! Even IF you had the balls to follow through, I'd just kill you! You're far too weak to ever become anything worthwhile… Then I'll kill all the humans myself, force that Soul Reaper to teach me his ability to sense spiritual pressure, then _actually_ train this kid, and raise him to be the legendary _Espada_! Maybe he'll even be able to take on Mr. Spiritual Cataclysm himself.'

He glanced down at the toddler cowering in his arms, tears streaming down his face. '...or I could just brain him against my ship… Heh.'

"I'll give you three hours, _Kurosaki_, don't fail your family again…," Aaroniero said, grinning evilly.

Aaroniero used his _sonido_ to make his escape, disappearing from their view, but leaving behind fear, anger, and the memory of his spiritual pressure.

From behind Urahara's van, another spiritual pressure made itself known. Byakuya, Ichigo's arch-nemesis, walked up to the dumbfounded, and terrified Ichigo.

"We must work together to even have a chance of defeating him, _Kurosaki_," he stated stoically, although the name he called Ichigo by revealed the hatred behind his words. Ichigo wanted nothing more than to say no, to say "Don't call me by that name!," but he didn't.

His son's life was in danger. His grandfather's keepsake was also in danger. Hell, the _whole world_ was in danger, 'Why else would Byakuya help me for?'

"_Kurosaki_, he has my nephew. I wish for nothing more than to end your life, but if it means saving the life of Tōshirō, then I am willing to delay that. I would have hoped we could at least rely on Keigo, apparently the strongest human alive, but it seems that he will be incapacitated for quite some time. And the locations of your comrades Renji, Yachiru, and Uryū are currently unknown to us. We will have to go forward like this."

Ichigo wordlessly got up, and began walking in the direction Aaroniero went. He would have never guessed that would be Byakuya's motivation, in fact he wondered how the Soul Reaper even knew about the boy. Thinking that worrying about it was not a good use of his very limited time, he turned back to his friends, and said "follow our spiritual pressures."

"_Kurosaki_, I do not believe that to be wise. Aaroniero is either broadcasting his spiritual pressure very purposefully, or as I believe, is incapable of lowering it. We will have the element of surprise either way if we approach him from the northwest by making our way there slowly, all the while hiding our spiritual pressures."

The two began to fly in the direction of Aaroniero, slowly gliding across the sky; fast enough to the point that they didn't fall _too_ far behind Aaroniero, but slowly enough for Aaroniero's _reikaku_ to not detect them, and for them to conserve energy for this upcoming battle.

A long silence followed as the two men made their way through the mountains, and forests of western Japan. Ichigo tried to keep in mind that every city they passed over would be destroyed by Aaroniero if they were not able to defeat him.

"Byakuya, I'm glad you wish to rescue my so-y-your nephew, but I believe that your life is the most-important here, since if you die, Ginrei dies, and the Seven Swords will cease to be. If you live, even if both Tōshirō and I die, we can both be brought back by the _Hōgyoku_."

The Soul Reaper came to a sudden stop, and so did the Hollow shortly thereafter. They stared each other down, and finally, Byakuya said "_Kurosaki_, I promise you _one_ thing, neither I nor Tōshirō will die today." There was a moment of tension between, them, but they continued flying in the direction of Aaroniero.


	2. A Helping Hand

At a campfire beneath a lopsided building deep in a ruined alien city, two men were eating the charred corpse of an alien in silence. One, the taller, and more muscular-looking of the two, with tan skin, a bald head, red face tattoos, and a bony jaw, was chewing loudly, and paid no attention to the _reikaku_ on his head. The other, a shorter, skinnier man, with pale skin, green tear tattoos, black hair, and a bony half-helm, seemed to be diligently paying attention to the green glass of his _reikaku_, likely looking for anyone who might've survived the cataclysm that had befallen this world. He was eating his portion of the alien in relative silence, occasionally bringing up a cloth to clean his mouth. Suddenly, his _reikaku_ beeped loudly. The man pressed one of its three buttons.

"Prince Ulquiorra, I have news," came the staticy voice of Aaroniero.

"Tell me," the shorter man, Ulquiorra said, in a calm, disinterested voice.

"Kurosaki has failed his mission. Apparently he has amnesia, and has actually _befriended_ the inhabitants of this world."

"That is most-disappointing," Ulquiorra said, ignoring the urge to swear in anger.

"What have you done about this?" Ulquiorra asked.

"I saw him with a group of humans, apparently all his friends. I have given him three hours to kill all of them, with the life of his son on the line."

"Kurosaki has a son?" Ulquiorra asked, growing even angrier.

"Yes, My Prince, apparently he's half-Soul Reaper," Aaroniero said tentatively, apparently some of Ulquiorra's anger coming through.

Fighting his emotions Ulquiorra asked "Has Kurosaki's strength improved at all?"

"Well, his spiritual pressure is about 100 units more than I expected," Aaroniero responded. "Although, that still leaves him at barely 500."

"Now, this boy you mentioned, he's half-Soul Reaper?"

"Could be less than that, but yes, apparently there are at least two rogue Soul Reapers on this rock. One of them, apparently the strongest person on this world, had a spiritual pressure of about 520."

Ulquiorra mulled that over. The Soul Reapers, along with the Hollows, were the only beings of pure spiritual pressure in existence, all other creatures were like these aliens, or the humans in the world of the living. Flesh, and blood. The Soul Reapers all lived in the _Seireitei_ of Soul Society, the place where all souls go after death. This meant that the Soul Society was highly militaristic, and desertion among them was punishable by death. Since the cataclysm of Hueco Mundo, a civil war had been raging across the cosmos between two faction of Soul Reapers: Lord Aizen's faction, and Yamamoto's faction.

Ulquiorra did not know enough about the situation down on earth to come to a full plan, but for now, he asked Aaroniero to "ask the boy what he knows about his mother. Perhaps information valuable to Lord Aizen can be extracted."

"Yes, my prince!" Aaroniero responded, before the _reikaku_ cut off.

The larger man laughed, saying "Only a spiritual pressure of 500? That Isshin sure had some weak-ass kids. So much for legendary _Vasto Lorde_!"

"Yes, Yammy," Ulquiorra responded, not trying to encourage the larger man.

Ulquiorra's _reikaku_ beeped again. Preferring the company of screaming, terrified aliens to that of Yammy, Ulquiorra stood, and used his _sonido_ to get to the position of the spiritual pressure.

He came upon a young alien woman with red skin, and pink hair. Ulquiorra pointed his finger at her. Turning around quickly, she called him a "heartless monster," before firing at him with some worthless alien blaster. He slapped the blast away as though it were an insect, before muttering "_Cero_," and walking off. A green ball of energy slammed into her body, vaporizing her nearly instantly, and causing the buildings around them to shift, and begin to collapse.

Ulquiorra became angry at himself. He had once again allowed his emotions to get the better of him. She had called him heartless. She had called _him_ heartless. 'What had she known about heartlessness? There is only one person in all of creation who is truly heartless.'

'I am no Aizen,' Ulquiorra thought, looking over the cataclysm he, and Yammy had brought onto this world.

In the smoking ruins, his partner was laughing.

"I am no Aizen," he muttered.

* * *

"So what's your name kid?" Aaroniero asked. He pressed a button on his _reikaku_, beginning to record his conversation.

"Not tellin'" Tōshirō said defiantly, shifting awkwardly beneath his gaze. The boy was sat within Aaroniero's ship, and seemed to be hiding something in the sash of his _hakama_. Aaroniero smiled innocently at his nephew, changing tactics to get on the boy's good side because of Ulquiorra's order. In an instant, he had the four-pointed hilt of Hyōrinmaru in his right hand. "Oh, what's this? I'd say little kids shouldn't have weapons, but I guess this _is_ broken, and ya know, I'm one to speak."

"Nuh-uh don' touch that!" Tōshirō exclaimed.

"Why not, did your daddy give you it?"

"Yeah that's dadda's! Grampa gave 'im it!"

"Yeah, and what about your mo-," "Sewiously mister! Give it!" Tōshirō interrupted his uncle. "It Horinmaroo! It one of the zonpuck toes! Baku-nii made it!"

"It's a _Zanpakutō_?" Aaroniero asked, shocked.

"Yeah, get all seven on earth, and you get Hagoku, he'll grant any wish you want!"

'It's a _Zanpakutō_.' 'Two Soul Reapers-' 'Baku-nii?' '_Hōgyoku_?'

Aaroniero shut the door to ship, he would need silence when speaking to his prince.

Aaroniero quickly pressed his _reikaku_ a few times, trying to get into contact with Ulquiorra. This was one of the few things that the Hollows had over Aizen. Among the Soul Reapers, there were legends of seven swords that could be gathered to summon the mighty _Hōgyoku_. Aizen knew about the legend, but considered it just that, a legend. Ulquiorra fully believed in it, however, and had always entertained the idea of finding all seven of them to wish for Aizen to become the Soul King. Aaroniero knew better than that however, and believed that Ulquiorra would wish to bring back _Hueco Mundo_ so as to become King of Hueco Mundo. If this world had its own Seven Swords, however, finding all of them under Aizen's nose would be very easy.

Ulquiorra wasn't answering. He sounded more angry than usual when he spoke to him over the _reikaku_. 'Oh well, this should cheer him up!' The Hollow quickly sent what he had recorded to his prince. Despite his younger brother's failure, this was shaping up to be a good day. He had a new nephew, knew something that Aizen didn't, and had a new goal, to bring back _Hueco Mundo_.

Suddenly, Aaroniero's face was against the crater walls, and there was a foot kicking him at the base of his spine. A pillar of dirt flew up, and the Hollow used his _sonido_ to appear behind his surprise attackers.

He was met with Kurosaki, and the Soul Reaper from earlier.

"I'm assuming your friends aren't quite dead yet, Kurosaki," Aaroniero said wryly. "Oh, but don't worry, if you didn't kill them…," he paused, powering up, "I will!"

Ichigo lunged at Aaroniero, unsheathing his Khyber Knife, and pointing it at his brother. Aaroniero dodged, slamming Ichigo down while in midair while making to punch him in the stomach.

Byakuya used his _shunpo_, appearing behind, and above their foe. Aaroniero, feeling his presence, turned just in time to be met with a vicious kick to the teeth. In anger, he took Byakuya's leg in a vice grip, and swung the Soul Reaper around just as he did to Keigo. He threw the man into the crater, launching up a gigantic cloud of sand, and dirt.

Ichigo took this opportunity to try and slam his elbow down into Aaroniero's nape, while Byakuya shot out of the cloud, blade pointed at Aaroniero's stomach, ready to disembowel the man. Aaroniero used his _sonido_ to avoid both attacks, and his two opponents barely avoided attacking one another.

Seconds later he returned, slapping both of them with closed fists. Ichigo's nose broke upon contact with his brother's bony hand. "Ah, fuck!" Ichigo shouted.

"Stay calm, _Kurosaki_," Byakuya said, "I have a plan."

"Grab his left hand!" Byakuya shouted, and Ichigo did.

"Ahhh! My h-hand!" Aaroniero shouted, face contorted in pain. Ichigo squeezed.

"L-l-let g-go please!" Aaroniero pleaded, tears running down his face. He swiped uselessly in Ichigo's direction, the pain radiating from his hand having too large a negative effect on his fighting abilities.

"So, mind telling me what your plan is?" Ichigo asked Byakuya.

"_Bakudō _#4. _Hainawa_," shouted Byakuya, holding his hands at his laps, and then launching a tightly coiled bundle of spiritual energy at Aaroniero. The Hollow yelped in surprise as they wrapped themselves tightly around his arms, and legs. He then screamed in equal parts anger, and pain. Electricity jumped up, and down Ichigo's arms as he held on _tight_ to his brother's left hand. The bony structure around it was slowly collapsing in on itself, popping, and cracking in a way that sounded horribly painful.

"It's likely he will be able to get out of those bindings if you let go if his hand, Kurosaki. I'll need you to continue doing so for at least the next five minutes, as I prepare my attack."

'Five minutes?' the brothers thought, incredulous, as Byakuya took a stance roughly five meters from them, and a bit more than that away from the crater.

"B-brother! P-please l-let me go? Please?"

"I'll turn o-ow-ow-over a n-new leaf! I'll be good, I swear! P-please?"

"Y-your son, h-he's in the ship over t-there," he said, gesturing with his head towards the crater.

"B-bring h-him out. H-he'll v-ouch(!) for me!"

Aaroniero couldn't believe it when Ichigo seemed to actually _consider_ his pleas. The orange haired man released Aaroniero's hand, mercifully freeing him from the intense pain. The Soul Reaper was too deep in concentration to notice what Ichigo had done. Aaroniero gave his brother the smile of a false friend. "Hey, if you're actually gonna be good now, don't struggle against the ropes. I'll go get my son, and if he actually vouches for you I'll let you go." Ichigo quickly went off to the ship.

'The idiot probably won't be able to figure it out quickly enough…'

Using his very limited range of motion, Aaroniero leaned his left side _away_ from where Ichigo would likely approach him.

He then forced the hand down the energy rope, slicing it off slowly, trying his hardest not to react to the pain, and simultaneously cauterizing the wound with the electrical current running through it. This wasn't even the first time he had been forced to cut off his own hand, which he was absolutely willing to do, as it would just grow back with time, anyway. He kicked his hand away when it fell into the dirt, kicking up a tiny cloud, and splattering blood across the ground.

'I'm going to torture him before he dies.'

Aaroniero was trapped in the ropes. He tested it very quickly, deciding that he _could_ escape, but that it would likely take some effort, and the other two would likely notice before he could do it. Handless, and tired from a day of using his _sonido_, he judged that the chance of defeat would be too high if he didn't have the element of surprise.

Ichigo, with Tōshirō on his shoulders approached Aaroniero from the angle he had expected them to.

"Is he a bad man, Tōshirō?" Ichigo asked his son. Aaroniero made a face of false fear, and worry, wanting to look meek in front of the child. Internally, however, Aaroniero felt disturbingly happy at how his plan was turning out. "Nuh-uh dada but he's real dum he didn't even know what a zonpuck toe was!" Tōshirō exclaimed loudly, as though the existence of the Seven Swords was just common knowledge.

"You told him what a _Zanpakutō_ is?" Ichigo asked his son, a feeling of dread crawling up from the pit of his stomach.

"Yuh-huh, now he's not so dum!"

Ichigo turned around, and locked eyes with Aaroniero. He, in turn, thrust forward the stump where his left hand used to be. 'Damned kid ruined my plan, heh, guess I'll pay him in kind by killing his dadda in front of him.'

"Byakuya, he cut off his own hand!" Ichigo shouted.

The Soul Reaper's eyes opened in shock, and he immediately put a stop to his previous ritual, which had been very close to completion. Aaroniero smiled wickedly, and used the amount of force necessary to escape his bindings. He pressed the final button on his _reikaku_ very quickly, 'I've got a spiritual pressure of roughly 1,100 right now, still more than both of 'em combined.' The Hollow smile widened, and he turned around, doing a spin, and smashing his sole fist into Ichigo's face.

Byakuya had made to attack him from the side whilst he was distracted by Ichigo, but he simply ducked, and then unsheathed his own weapon, no longer wanting to waste his time with the Soul Reaper. He lunged forward with his trident, making to shove it into Byakuya's back, before he himself was punched in the face, and thrown several meters away, his trident flying into Byakuya's arm.

He landed on the ground right next to his bony left hand in the blood-soaked dirt. He sat up, looking back at Ichigo, who he presumed had punched him, but instead was met with Tōshirō, who had an incredibly surprised Ichigo looking at him. Tōshirō looked every bit the warrior, with angry blue eyes piercing into his own, and spiky white hair unfurling like that of some some rabid animal.

"Don't touch my dadda!"

His _reikaku_ said the boy's spiritual pressure was 700. 'No, no, t-that's impossible! It was only 5 or so an hour ago! O-oh Lord no, I'm going to die on this godforsaken rock, aren't I?' He quickly tapped a button on his _reikaku_, sending out a distress signal to Ulquiorra and Yammy.

Ichigo had enough energy for one final _shunpo_, and used it to get behind his brother, lifting him up, and off the ground into a full-nelson. Byakuya stepped in front of Tōshirō, with his arm torn and bloodied. "Ichigo, I only need a few seconds this time, I still have most of the spiritual energy from last time. I'm sorry that Tōshirō has to be here for this."

Byakuya concentrated, feeling his spiritual energy flow from his body, and into his sword. "Scatter, _Senbonzakura_."

His sword shattered into thousands of cherry blossom petals, all of them making for Aaroniero, and Ichigo, ripping them to shreds in a beautiful display of light and color. The two brothers collapsed before it was over, and were both covered in hundreds of tiny lacerations, and totally soaked in blood.

Tōshirō fainted, landing with a thud and a small cloud of dirt. Byakuya wasn't sure if the boy was simply exhausted from that punch he gave Aaroniero earlier, or if the sight of blood is what did it.

Aaroniero gave one final tap to his _reikaku_, and looking at Byakuya, said "Heh, (cough) you a-actually managed to beat me. Doesn't m-matter though, you're all going to die in less than a year, when my comrades come back f-for y-your _Zanpakutō_."

Byakuya went to retrieve Aaroniero's trident, dragging it through the dirt. He pulled it up, and shoved it into the monster, causing him to sputter up blood. The life went out from his eyes as he died. Ichigo, however, was seemingly still alive, and conscious, simply covered in thousands of lacerations. He looked up at Byakuya, and asked "Did you enjoy hurting me, Byakuya?"

"I did not enjoy hurting my sister's husband, and my nephew's father. Not only that, but now there is no one on earth who has a comparable spiritual pressure to my own. The threat of two new _Vasto Lordes _looms overhead, and without you, it has become my battle to fight."

Ichigo nodded in understanding, feeling his senses dull, and his consciousness fade away.

He thought he heard music, and then some yelling.

"Wake up Ichigo! Ichigo!? Wake up!" he heard someone shout, a male, probably not Byakuya.

"Hey Keigo."

"Look, l-look, we uh brought you these strawberries, infused with some serum the Gotei 13 made! It can heal you!" Keigo pleaded, trying to ignore the light fading from Ichigo's eyes.

"T-tell Rukia I'm sorry…" Ichigo said as he died, a small smile pulling at his lips.

Keigo tried to shove the strawberry in his mouth, but it was useless. Tears streamed down his face as cried silently. His throat felt constricted, and his heart felt empty. 'Was this what it was like back when Kouga killed me? Did Ichigo feel this alone?' Ichigo was cold, and wet from all the blood. He heard motion behind him, and then felt a hand on his shoulder. Probably Urahara. Ichigo's corpse disappeared in his arms.

"What happened, Byakuya?" Urahara asked the Soul Reaper. Orihime was cradling the unconscious Tōshirō.

"Ichigo sacrificed his own life so that Aaroniero could be defeated. It seems his two comrades have been made aware of the _Zanpakutō_, however, and will arrive on earth in approximately a year."

Urahara could not help but notice Byakuya's torn, and bloodied arm. "Hey, we can give you one of these strawberries for that. They do actually work. You were there when Aaroniero threw Keigo into my shop, but now after eating one he's," Urahara looked down, "... healed."

"My thanks, but I have to refuse."

Byakuya brought his _katana_ down on his shoulder, and his arm fell clean off. Then, with a look of deep concentration, and pain, ropes of black energy shot from his shoulder, coalescing, then expanding outwards, and swelling into an entirely new, undamaged arm. In one fell swoop, he stretched it out, testing it, and took Tōshirō from Orihime's arms.

"I do not mean to harm Tōshirō, and in a show of good faith, I will leave Hyōrinmaru with you instead of taking it. I will train my nephew in preparation for the arrival of the Hollows."

"I advise that you, and the other _Ryoka_ do the very same," Byakuya said while staring at Keigo. Byakuya slowly began to levitate off the ground, flying in a northerly direction with the unconscious Tōshirō."

Orihime looked down at Keigo. It was painful seeing him be so _serious_. Urahara, too, was a man who liked to joke around. Seeing both of them down made her want to help. She went over to Aaroniero's corpse. He really did look like Ichigo.

"Hey, Urahara, can you load that ship, and the Hollow's corpse up unto my car? Make sure that thing on his face isn't damaged. We've got some swords to gather."


End file.
